Shadow imaging is a technique the working principle of which utilizes a capture of optical shadow(s), produced by a specimen (for example, cells on a microfluidic chip or on a glass slide) that is illuminated from the top, with an optical sensor placed directly underneath. From the analysis of the captured multiplicity of shadow images, which are interchangeably referred to herein as hologram shadows, qualitative (for example, shape, type of specimen) and quantitative (for example, number, size) characteristics of the specimen can be derived. This category of the imaging system understandably has operational shortcomings, which include the limit imposed on the optical resolution by the pixel-size of the imaging sensor, which begs a question of devising a methodology capable of improving the quality of shadow imaging. Related art attempted to address such question by employing multiple source of light illuminating the specimen or object and/or acquiring multiple hologram shadows while illuminating the object on different angles and/or collecting the optical data with multiple optical detectors. Each of these approaches understandably complicates the operation and increases the cost of a shadow imaging system. There remains a need in a simplified hardware system and methodology that increases the spatial resolution of shadow images and facilitates optical noise suppression and in-situ visualization at high-frame rates of a specimen under test without affecting the diffraction limit of the imaging system.